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From the Resene Total Colour Awards gallery of entries

Having not long started up an interior design business, Studio Y Interior Design, Yvette Parker decided that her family home would be a great starting point to play around with some ideas. The home needed to showcase her ability to use colour wisely and boldly, but also have the home reflect their family. The home makeover was done on a very tight budget, and considerations on over-capitalising were key. Colour was used to showcase the home’s features and layout, rather than doing major renovations to achieve what was desired.

Yvette has always had a love affair with black and white, and wanted this to be the underlying palette for the home. She’s also drawn to bold, punchy colours, so had to decide which colours would work best with the current décor.

A white on white look was chosen to best showcase the home décor, while being the springboard for having the bold colour choices stand out. Choosing the ‘perfect’ white was the hardest part of the whole colour selection process. After nine testpots of various whites, Resene Black White was used, in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen and Resene Enamacryl, which was painted on all the walls, ceiling, trim and doors. Once the house was covered in white, it was easier to see where colour and oomph needed to be added.

The master bedroom includes a feature wall behind the bed in Resene All Black in Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen. This black feature wall has actually increased the feeling of space and size in the room, rather than making it feel smaller as people would assume.

The next space that needed attention was the kitchen. When standing in the dining room looking at the kitchen, three walls protruded out of the layout. Instead of trying to make them blend in, they were the perfect place for a bold splash of colour.

For the first layer, Resene Spotlight creates a welcoming entrance into the kitchen and cheers up the adjoining dining room. The next ‘layer’ was the red. Resene Bullseye was the perfect red for a kitchen and was used to continue the flow of colour also used in the dining/living room décor. The final ‘layer’ was a floor-to-ceiling cupboard painted with Resene Blackboard Paint in Resene All Black, for the family to have a bit of fun writing messages to each other, and the perfect spot for writing up the dinner menu.

Finally, the largest wall of the kitchen received a moody/smoky grey colour in Resene Gunpowder. Because this area had the original 60s melamine wallcovering, Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer was used to undercoat the area, and then two coats of Resene Enamacryl gloss waterborne enamel were applied to ensure the walls were durable and easy to clean. This colour creates a feeling of depth in the kitchen and its absorbing colour made the window frame which was painted in Resene Black White ‘pop’. A custom light shade by Studio Y Interior Design was made to incorporate the yellow and red colours of the kitchen.

Initially, I had to overcome ‘husband’ worries about choosing such bold colours! This was easily solved by simply painting the walls while he was at work! The other major challenge faced in the kitchen was the original 60s Melteca® splashback that spanned the kitchen wall. As it was a slick, shiny surface, research had to be done in order to find a suitable paint product that would stick and look good. Resene Waterborne Smooth Surface Sealer solved this problem.

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